Chapter 5
Saying, crying, replying, and continuing
Speech reporting expressions in Early Modern English
This chapter investigates the form, frequency, and function of speech reporting expressions in Early Modern English, such as quod she in “I perceiue now [$ (quod she) $] how mishap doth follow me” (CED, D1FGASCO, 1573). We focus on the use in the prose fiction texts in Periods 1 and 3 in A Corpus of English Dialogues 1560–1760 (CED). The study points to developments over time, in the distribution of individual verbs as well as groups of verbs with similar functions. Variation is also evident in the word order of the speech reporting expression in relation to the represented speech and in the internal order of the speech reporting expressions (subject+verb or verb+subject).
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Background
- 3.Material and methodology
- 4.Results
- 4.1Individual speech reporting expressions and functional categories
- 4.2Structural characteristics of speech reporting expressions
- 5.Conclusion
-
Notes
-
References
References (26)
References
Aijmer, K. 2015. Quotative markers in A Corpus of English Dialogues 1560–1760
. In The Pragmatics of Quoting Now and Then, J. Arendholz, W. Bublitz & M. Kirner Ludwig (eds), 231–254. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Bevitori, C. 2006. Speech representation in parliamentary discourse: Rhetorical strategies in a heteroglossic perspective: A corpus-based study. In Studies in Specialized Discourse, J. Flowerdew & M. Gotti (eds), 155–179. Bern: Peter Lang.
Caldas-Coulthard, C. R. 1987. Reporting speech in written narrative texts. In Discussing Discourse, M. Coulthard (ed.), 149–167. Birmingham: University of Birmingham.
Caldas-Coulthard, C. R. 1994. On reporting reporting: The representation of speech in factual and factional narrative. In Advances in Written Text Analysis, M. Coulthard (ed.), 295–308. London: Routledge.
CED = A Corpus of English Dialogues 1560–1760. 2006. Compiled under the supervision of M. Kytö (Uppsala University) and J. Culpeper (Lancaster University).
Cichosz, A. 2019. Parenthetical reporting clauses in the history of English: The development of quotative inversion. English Language and Linguistics 23(1): 183–214.
Culpeper, J. & Kytö, M. 2010. Early Modern English Dialogues: Spoken Interaction as Writing. Cambridge: CUP.
Grund, P. J. 2020. The metalinguistic description of speech and fictional language: Exploring speech reporting verbs and speech descriptors in Late Modern English. In Speech Representation in the History of English: Topics and Approaches, P. J. Grund & T. Walker (eds), 102–130. Oxford: OUP.
Grund, P. J. & Walker, T. 2020a. Speech representation in the history of English: Introduction. In Speech Representation in the History of English: Topics and Approaches, P. J. Grund & T. Walker (eds), 1–28. Oxford: OUP.
Grund, P. J. & Walker, T. (eds). 2020b. Speech Representation in the History of English: Topics and Approaches. Oxford: OUP.
de Haan, P. 1996. More on the language of dialogue in fiction. ICAME Journal 20: 23–40.
Kytö, M. 2010. Explorations into ‘spoken’ interaction of the past: Evidence from early English texts. In Anglistentag 2009 Klagenfurt: Proceedings, J. Helbig & R. Schallegger (eds), 9–20. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.
Kytö, M. & Walker, T. 2006. Guide to A Corpus of English Dialogues 1560–1760
. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.
Moore, C. 2011. Quoting Speech in Early English. Cambridge: CUP.
Moore, C. 2015. Histories of talking about talk: Quethen, quoth, and quote
. In The Pragmatics of Quoting Now and Then, J. Arendholz, W. Bublitz & M. Kirner Ludwig (eds), 255–270. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Oostdijk, N. 1990. The language of dialogue in fiction. Literary and Linguistic Computing 5(3): 235–241.
Philips, S. U. 1986. Reported speech as evidence in an American trial. In Languages and Linguistics: The Interdependence of Theory, Data and Application, D. Tannen & J. E. Alatis (eds), 154–170. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G. & Svartvik, J. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.
San Segundo, P. R. 2016. A corpus-stylistic approach to Dickens’ use of speech verbs: Beyond mere reporting. Language and Literature 25(2): 113–129.
San Segundo, P. R. 2017. Reporting verbs as a stylistic device in the creation of fictional personalities in literary texts. Atlantis 39(2): 105–124.
Semino, E. & Short, M. 2004. Corpus Stylistics: Speech, Writing and Thought Presentation in a Corpus of English Writing. London: Routledge.
Tannen, D. 1989. Talking Voices: Repetition, Dialogue, and Imagery in Conversational Discourse. Cambridge: CUP.
Thompson, G. & Yiyun, Y. 1991. Evaluation in the reporting verbs used in academic papers. Applied Linguistics 12(4): 365–382.
Urban, M. & Ruppenhofer, J. 2001. Shouting and screaming: Manner and noise verbs in communication. Literary and Linguistic Computing 16(1): 77–97.
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
GRUND, PETER J.
2023.
Disgusting, obscene and aggravating language: speech descriptors and the sociopragmatic evaluation of speech in theOld Bailey Corpus.
English Language and Linguistics 27:3
► pp. 517 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 19 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.